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“Muslims Can’t be Vegan” – Where Veganism and Religion Collide

This post is part of a series called “Why Vegan?”, in which I try to shed some light on the how’s and why’s of my Veganism.
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I’ve been wanting to do this post for a long time – but I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure if I should. Religion is always a touchy subject and I’m sure I risk offending or losing readers by even bringing it up. Furthermore, I view religion as a very private thing and am not usually inclined to discuss it or bring it into a public sphere. That said, I feel very strongly about addressing this particular topic, so I’m going to bite the bullet and dive right in.

It all started over a family meal while I was at home this past December. Plates were being passed around the table and my aunt was doling out sizeable portions of everything on the table in true Egyptian fashion. When I pointed out that I’d pass on the fillet of grilled fish, she jokingly said “!دي نعمة ربنا” (this is God’s blessing!). I smiled and said that the salad, vine leaves and fasolia on my plate were equally so.

On a more serious note, my aunt’s comment went on to inspire a heated discussion on whether or not veganism was in keeping with Islam as a religion. Not only is eating meat condoned, pointed out my mom, but animal sacrifice is actually required during Eid Al Adha, a celebration that falls during the Hajj period (pilgrimage to Mecca). Over 100 million animals are slaughtered annually during a period of 48 hours across the Islamic world – a statistic like that is enough to put any vegan off Islam – so how do I go about reconciling that, my family wanted to know.

“If we weren’t meant to eat meat – surely it wouldn’t have been mentioned in the Holy Qur’an”, said my cousin. Someone else agreed, reminding me that abstaining from certain foods like pork and alcohol is explicitly mentioned, so why not all meats “if they were really bad for us?”.

“It just doesn’t make sense. Muslims can’t be vegan”.

And this, is where I had to step in.
There’s no hemming and hawing around the fact that the consumption of animal products is mentioned in the Qur’an, I’m not going to argue that. But to say that Muslims can’t be vegan/vegetarian is just preposterous.
Anyone even remotely familiar with Islam and Halal practices will know that there is a huge importance placed on the kindness with which to treat animals and concern for their welfare within the religion.
Several verses within the Holy Qur’an illustrate this:

There is not an animal (that lives) on the earth, nor a being that flies on its wings, but (forms part of) communities like you. Nothing have We omitted from the Book, and they (all) shall be gathered to their Lord in the end. (Sura 6:38)

The Qur’an is adamant that animals not be looked at as mere resources, and that they form communities and groups just like human beings. Islamic teachings paint animals as our equals, and constantly highlight s their rights to have a peaceful life.
The Prophet Mohammed was notoriously known to perpetuate this message, and is quoted in several Hadith scriptures on the importance of compassion towards animals:

“A good deed done to an animal is as meritorious as a good deed done to a human being, while an act of cruelty to an animal is as bad as an act of cruelty to a human being.”

“He who takes pity {even} on a sparrow and spares its life, Allah will be merciful on him on the Day of Judgment.”

“Allah (God) will not give mercy to anyone, except those who give mercy to other creatures.”

Not a lot of people know this but the The Prophet even forbade the use of animal skins. He also denounced the beating of animals and forbade striking, branding or marking them on the face. He was known to scold those who mistreated animals and praise those who showed them kindness. He even instituted radical changes against the barbaric practices of the Arabs of the Jahilliyah (age of ignorance) by condemning cutting tails and humps off living camels for food, notching and slitting their ears and placing painful rings around their necks.

At the risk of sounding like Islam-ipedia, I’ll get to my point. Contrary to what many people believe as a result of disgustingly inaccurate stereotypes, Islam is a religion of compassion, kindness and peace – and that no doubt extends to all living creatures including animals. That much is clear.
So how DO I reconcile the fact that although animal welfare is highly regarded in Islam, the holy book contains several allusions to eating meat and animal sacrifice?

Firstly, it’s important to consider the manner in which animals are slaughtered in Islam. Similarly to Judaism, animals consumed for food must be slaughtered as per religious instruction. I won’t give the gory details, but the process necessitates that an animal be soothed and given food and water beforehand. It’s intended to provide a “quick humane and relatively painless death”. Now bear with me (and ignore the irony of the fact that I just used humane, painless and death in the same sentence). I’m not saying that Halal practices in any way justify or make animal slaughter acceptable – I’m simply highlighting that there is a stark difference between what Islam dictates and the shocking conditions mass-farmed animals endure every day. These animals spend their lives confined to tiny cages and cramped windowless buildings. Chickens are de-beaked and cattle mutilated – castration, de-horning and ear slitting are just the tip of the iceberg.

My point is, I have a very hard time believing that the Prophet who so vehemently preached that animals be treated with utmost compassion and kindness, would approve of what goes on behind the walls of modern-day slaughterhouses. Frankly nothing is more un-Islamic to me than the complete disregard for animals’ lives and the fact that they’re essentially treated like machines.
(Most Muslims, when presented with this argument, will point out that all butchers in Arab/Muslim countries strictly adhere to Halal practices. Now personally I take issue with that, but for the sake of argument, let’s say that was true. What about the millions of Muslims living abroad? What about imported meat? How can you be 100% sure that the animals you’re eating haven’t been mistreated, abused and brutally slaughtered? Just as I will never know if my zucchini are 100% organic and pesticide free, you can’t.)

Secondly, one must keep in mind that there’s such a thing as context. The Qur’an is over 1000 years old, living circumstances in the Arab world (and elsewhere) have dramatically changed since pre-Islamic times. Back then, everyday life was heavily reliant on animals. Camels and horses were used for transport across harsh deserts, and many recordings indicate that food was generally scarce. So eating animal products may actually have been, at one point, necessary for survival.

Would The Prophet or the Qur’an approve the mass consumption of animal products in today’s world the conditions of factory farming, the environmental consequences of agribusiness and more importantly the abundance of non-meat food sources?
I’m in no position to make such a claim – but I don’t think so.
Furthermore, Islam is a religion that encourages its followers to maintain their health and general well-being. Given what we now know about the link between the consumption of animal products and chronic disease – shouldn’t we be chowing down on a little less steak and a little more spinach? The statistics speak for themselves. Everyone is always going on about how obesity rates in the US and Europe are on the rise, and coronary heart disease is claiming more and more lives – but the Arab/Muslim world isn’t much better in that regard. Little known fact – Bahrain, with a population of just 1 million, has one of the highest rates of diabetes prevalence in the world.

So if were talking technicalities, following a vegan diet actually means I’m complying with the order to protect my health.
The bottom line is, The Qur’an tells us what can’t and can be eaten (meats included) if we so wish. Nowhere does it say that Muslims are required to eat meat (although the way some people do you’d think it was a sixth pillar or something). Meat consumption is mentioned yes, but it is not in any way encouraged or recommended. There are also numerous verses within the Qur’an that emphasize the benefits of fruits and vegetables to sustain animals and humans alike, and to promote better health and living environments, but apparently those don’t get a mention when a debate like mine breaks out at the dinner table.

Candidly speaking, I’d consider myself to be fairly religious. I wouldn’t go so far as to describe myself as a devout or perfect Muslim, but I do the best I can. Sure, I may not always behave or dress in a way that society deems acceptable. But I also fast, pray regularly and most importantly strive to be an all around good person. As I said earlier, religion to me is a very private and personal thing, and I don’t think anyone has the authority to tell me what I can or can’t do in that sense. It’s not about picking and choosing the aspects of religion that appeal to me, but how I choose to practice my religion should be of no concern to anyone else. In my eyes, being vegan only strengthens my faith and most certainly doesn’t contradict it.

Adopting a food philosophy that is not only good for me, but good for the animals, and the environment marries perfectly with all of my spiritual beliefs. Being vegan has made me that much more compassionate and thoughtful. It’s really helped me become more in tune with my identity on the whole and the kind of person I want to be.
I’m not saying that being vegan makes me superior in comparison with all the non-vegan Muslims out there – I’m just saying it doesn’t make me any less of one.
(I should point out that my family is not particularly religious. The reason I think this subject came up is down to the fact that by being vegan I’m challenging the deep-set traditions of my culture. It just so happens that religion is very intertwined with culture in most Arab and Middle Eastern societies, and people often have a hard time discerning between the two.)
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this one.Any similar experiences reconciling aspects of religion/spiritual beliefs that don’t necessarily complement your personal beliefs? Do you think religion should impact lifestyle and diet choices like veganism, or are the two mutually exclusive?

I’m not a muslim, but I am an ex-muslim and a vegan , my response is going to be swift, as it doesn’t take much explanation.

Essentially muslims believe that God is the highest standard of good, and that humans must thus obey his every command. Indeed God tells muslims in islam that we may use (aka oppress) animals, and thus, although it may be acceptable not to oppress animals, to believe it is wrong is to believe you are morally superior to God, which contrevenes the very basis of Islamic beliefs meaning you are not a muslim. (You can be a Muslim and not practice it, but if you don’t believe part of it, you aren’t a Muslim)

Now, to comment upon the whole, a good deed done to a beast= the same as for a human thing. I will accept that Muhammed believed that, but he believed that what is good to do do for a beast is not the same as what is good for man. As such he would argue that not killing a beast is not good, but not killing a man is, and that they are not morally equivocal. It’s like what might be good for a child is different from what is good for an adult. Obviously I disagree with Muhammed but that’s by the by.

In conclusion, I will accept that if animals are murdered in a halal way, using the sharpest of blades, when it is alone so as not to scare other animals, feeding it water just before, making sure it is able to graze etc etc, it is less cruel that what happens today. And, although I will accept that ‘halal’ meat today would not of been passed as halal at the time of the prophet and is therefore haraam, muslims still have speciesism at the heart of their beliefs. Therefore you cannot be an animal liberationist and muslim, as the views are contradictory.

i’m an ex muslim too (from Algeria) and I can’t agree more with your comment. It seems to me that the author of the article is trying to convince herself that islam and veganism are compatible, it’s kind of the same BS we hear about how islam had been such a liberation for women…

Hi,
I am nother vegan from Algeria, glad to see people around and especially from my country. I agree, Islam and veganism are incompatible because ,without going deeper into the debate, the view and the idea of islam and quran put mankind on the center of the universe and everything else under their specific needs and for their interests. its a pure specist ideology which regards the mankind superior and having a divine right to use the others as ressources (the wellfarinst part is debatable, killing a conscient animal is more painful than killing a dizzy), but the bottom line is the basic contradiction : why quran, god and Islam are by their nature universal, they are based on values against veganism. there are hundred of examples : the bees sourate, the cow sourate, the act of the creation, etc. Quran is clear and consider animals as mankind’s ressources.
Islam (and all the monotheistic religions) missed up with veganism.
* The Article is wellfarist *

…true. It’s never about HOW we use animals. It Is THAT be use others as an instrument or resource that is the wrongdoing. It cannot be a surprise that a religion that considers their profit to be a ‘perfect man’ has no problem with slavery, him being someone who endorsed slavery. And speciesist as the total set-up is: if that is ok to do to humans, isn’t it completely logical enslavement of animals is even much more acceptable? “They’re only animals” resonates in so many religions that animals cannot expect their Savior will root in any of these…

I think the OP states that she can take an additional moral without colliding with Islam. I am vegan, and although I made my choice I don’t think my morality is inherently superior. I am aware that people eats meat and, as long as they do in a way which is consistent with nature cycle and not in the industrial way, it is still natural.

Although I hate the three main religions, I consider the post is not about “Islam is aligned with veganism” but in the other way: “I could align to Islam being vegan” (if I commited intellectual suicide by converting to a religion).

A religion cannot be held by a vegan if it actually Commands me, under penalty of Hell/Iblis/, to kill an animal. Otherwise, the religion can be held by a vegan if the vegan can hold both promises. Saying otherwise is like saying that I cannot be a software developer and be vegan at same time, just because software developers do not hold an implicit moral against animal products consumption or other forms of animal suffering.

I get what you’re saying about speciesism. That animals are treated as resources to humans and not equal to them. However, I am curious to know, how does this speciesism not extend to the act of eating plants? I can think of plants as living organisms too; they have the right to grow, live, and not be eaten by humans. I would like to know how eating plants is not considered speciesism?

I’m planning on going on a more vegan diet, maybe reducing meat consumption due to the harm that is done in the industry today. But I would like to know what people’s opinions are on these issues.

Plants are also living being but there is difference in level of consciousness between plants ,animals, and human beings .the finer the consciousness the greater is the pain when it is subjected to violence . so it is recommended to eat vegetables ,for nonveg consumption it is

For non veg there are different conditions under which it is fine – 1 . when food is scarce and we find no other alternative but to consume meat to survive 2. If we have desire to eat meat then it has to be slaughter in religious way but according to my view slaughter house should not be maintained where animals are slaughter in unreligious way .so to summarize to be veg is good and fine , little more compensation is to eat non veg but that should under religious injunction and to maintain slaughter house to maintain ones luxurious life is absolutely forbidden

I would like to know how you would live WITHOUT eating plants?! There are living micro-organisms in the air we breath too! Is breathing speciesism?!
Also eating animals means you are contributing to far more plant death than living a strictly plant based diet.

It takes 15 kg of plants to produce 1 kg of flesh plus more plants casualties as spices and herbs to mask the stench of decaying dead body. Those who consume flesh maximize cruelty. They destroy both the animal and masses of plants. Find other excuse to harm and murder. Plants suffering in the context of vegan mercy and compassion simply reinforces we should never eat flesh.

Thank you for the beautiful article. I am Muslim and vegetarian (working towards becoming vegan). I would only eat meat if they meet the halal standards you have outlined above which is almost impossible to find nowadays (unless businesses like honest chops can expand)
I wanted to highlight that today’s meat consumption (large portions on daily basis in most of the meals) is far from Islamic. Although eating meat (under the aforementioned guidelines of sacrifice) is permitted, no where do we have evidence that we can eat it frequently. Prophet Mohamed’s diet was mostly vegetarian and focused on fruits (eg dates and pomegranate) and milk, with meat being a very occassional meal especially if offered by others. I guess if people know the impact of over consumption of meat on their health and the environment, many would cut off their consumption significantly.

Halal DOES NOT MEAN CRUELTY-FREE !! Matter of fact, it is MORE cruel than conventional slaughter. So GOD says anything slaughtered has to be completely aware it is going to die .. THAT IS SICK & SADISTIC !!! The whole Slaughter, sacrifice customs of ancient humans is savagery ignorance — totally rooted in mental illness…that goes for Abraham hearing God’s voice to slaughter his son then the lamb…then slaughter the Canaanites so Israelites can take over the promised land… GOD DOES NOT TELL YOU TO KILL — ONLY THE DEVIL DOES !!!

Peace I am a Muslim,I follow the Qur’an only,as that was the Only Book Allah gave to Prophet Muhammad and over and over in the Qur’an ,he said that he only followed what was revealed to him.My nutrition is 100% plant based Vegan,and a lot of my food is raw,I am a 77 years young male ,in good health ,and am not on any medication ,over the counter or prescription. No where in the Qur’an says that meat eating is compulsory,it is permissible,but not compulsory,so following Vegan nutrition does not stop anyone from being a Muslim.. The fact is that the majority of animal products in this present age is not healthy.Look at the improvement and eradication of many diseases when those sick people adopted Vegan nutrition.I don’t want to be too long,but I would really like to communicate with the Sister hosting this Site,keep up the good work,by the way I am a published Author and a few of my books are on Vegan nutrition..

I had the same thing. I became vegan a week before the annual sheep slaughter. You can imagine the weird looks on their faces when I said I wasn’t going to eat sheep meat xD.

After that I’ve been looking up rigorously on what the Quran has to say about it. I realized it doesn’t condemns it, which made me sway a little bit (but I didn’t eat meat nonetheless). I noticed something very important though: everything that is unlawful is animal related food (rotten meat, blood, pig, …). It struck me as a sign. Also the Quran emphasizes on good, wholesome foods in many places. We know now that animals products are hazardous for health, especially red meat. So given our current scientific information combined with the sayings in the Quran it is clear meat, dairy and eggs should be limited to a small amount at least. I also came across historical info on the prophet, who apparently ate meat from feast to feast. Or if someone offered him some at their home. This apparently made him eat meat only a couple times a year. Whereas muslims nowadays eat meat everyday. I find that to be so hypocritical of them to just throw that all aside and only look at the ayah “we have provided for you fruits and meat in harsh times”.
But I’m haply they have all been considerate for me and very understandable and compassionate. One my friends became vegetarian recently.

I love you, girl! I wish there were more people like you: beautiful at heart and mind! Please keep up with this blog and let others hear you! People like you one day will slowly change the world to be a better place! I am excited to try your recipes. I am not a muslim but I am a vegetarian striving to become vegan one day. Thank you!

no benevolent entity would be so impractical to its servants. People literally depend on meat and grain in many places, as broccoli and all these other substitutes for protein and omega b12 cant be accessed in a supermarket. But yes there are conditions to how the subject matter should be handled.

There are many, many alternatives to meat and other animal products that are very widely available. All manner of food is exported/imported all around the world. The number of people who are genuinely dependent on animal products is relatively very small. The vast majority of people can easily thrive on a plant-sourced diet and have no valid justification for not doing so.

I advice you to look for anthropology and how human society and agriculture evolved during ages. For example B12 is found in large quantities in water and dirty vegetables. Due to cleaning and aseptisation , a social change happened in the last centuries of human evolution, we can no more find them there and we lost our resistance to water bacteria while other animals are still adapted to drink water in the wild.
The same with vegetable, humans biologically are frugivores and they change their behavior because they migrated to more vegetable less areas during their evolution. So before the discovery of agriculture they relied principally on hunting in these areas after eating for a time the rest of dead animals killed by other predators.
And refering to the scriptures, adam and Eve in all the religions books were vegans , they ate only fruits (frugivores) and make leaves as clothes !

Very bold, brave and great article. I am a vegetarian Muslim and relate to you very much in your views. I too believe meat is not a necessity to survive in our day and age and I am particularly outraged by how animals are treated today; there is nothing ethical about killing an animal!!!! Thank you for sharing 🙂

A vegetarian diet is only for slightly improving your own health, yhe amount of cruelty occuring in the egg and milk industry is no less to the meat. you are supporting the meat industry through buying eggs and milk. A vegan is the real way forward, unless you are taking small steps gradually going towards the vegan lifestyle.
Tim shieff is a vegan athlete, not Muslim but gives a good insight on the vegan lifestyle.

So glad I have found you!
For some time now I am trying to found resources related to plant based diet (vegan and vegetarian) in Islam. I have created the above board on pinterest to help me gather all resources in one place, there isn’t much though…
I had been vegetarian since I was 9 and finally a year ago I have became vegan. I managed to highly reduce the amount of animal products my husband eats (he is from Algeria) and I cut off animal products from my kid’s diet in 95% (occasionally they have pizza with some cheese on it at their friends’ houses).
I will definitely keep an eye on your blog. I hope to find many new interesting resources here 🙂
Have a great day!

I love this article, and agree to everything you said. My mother used to tell me that killing an ant (or any other kind of insect) is haram. So, why is slaughtering/killing a cow (or any other kind of animal) not? They’re both the same–they have lives and children, just like us humans. Why is it okay to kill an animal and wrong to kill an insect? They both haven’t done anything to us. I think every muslim should read this article and learn. This is great. I must show this to my family.

“Islam never intended that humans would kill animals in order to consume their flesh. The Holy Koran and many Muslim Saints emphasize the benefits of a meatless, vegetable-based diet and their impacts on human life as well as the ecology of the planet Earth.”

“Many Hadith scriptures from the life of Prophet Mohammed as well as other Muslim Saints convey a depth of compassion and kindness towards animals and suggest that the primary duty of all Muslims is to care for the well-being of animals. The Prophet also emphasized the importance and effects of a vegetable-based diet, even forbidding the use of animal skins:

“Do not allow your stomachs to become graveyards!”

“A good deed done to an animal is as meritorious as a good deed done to a human being, while an act of cruelty to an animal is as bad as an act of cruelty to a human being.”

Hello! I love the article and I love your blog. I became a veggie a few months ago, and I just decided to not really mention it to anyone else but my parents. But after a while I had to tell other people too because I couldn’t avoid social events. And I understand these stupid arguments that happen EVERY SINGLE TIME at lunchtime with my extended family. I am from Jordan and people view meat as an honourable thing especially when inviting people over. If you put more meat = you respect them more. I am passionate about everything that I do in life, and my transition wasn’t quick, I read and watched videos and asked nutritionists and I do sports everyday. Now I want to eliminate dairy as it makes me bloated every single time I consume it, so I stumbled upon your blog and I want to thank you for having it! I’m a really bad cook, so I will link it to my father so he can do your recipes 😛
I’m a Muslim too, and people always get religion in the way of everything, cherry picking the subjects as they please. As some of my family once told me that people who chose these kinds of diet have a religious emptiness that they want to fill in order to feel good. My response was silence. I believe, as you do, that religion is something between you and God, no one has the right to get in between. And the bigger problem is that they firmly deny the horrid over consumption and the horror that will take place soon if people don’t stop over consuming and over producing..etc, but they wouldn’t let me show them any of the documentaries, or just information about health or whatever. Arabs have a mentality that they want to stick with traditions and cultural norms to a degree that nothing is welcomed. You can believe something, but you can’t share it with others, creating a two faced people with multiple personalities. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that the people are bad, they are just scared to say anything about anything. As you mentioned, just pointing out religion might make people go crazy with arguments and it’s very very sad, it’s really hard to break through to them, I hope they do understand one day. **I’m sorry for my disconnected thoughts, but I have a final submission in two days and I was reading this while taking my food break (consisting of fully vegan **yay!!, Sauteed spinach with onions and muchrooms, corn, then two oranges, and a mango)
If anyone is from Jordan, visiting..etc please tell me… 🙂
bye 😀

Dear marah,
Like ur post on vegetarianism… m really so curious n want to connect with vegetatian muslims as they inspire me . I am from india a hindu and can try to understand how courageous and you ppl can be when taking such decisions opposed by majority of ur ppl.
wishing u love n light!

Wow brother you got the guts and i am with you,i bet peoples will one day understand the language of peace.there is a vegan muslim society in facebook if you would like to get add in it.keep on doing good,my best wishes

My take on this whole matter is slightly different. I was born in Pakistan. Loved animals all my life but I did not know if there was a way to live beside meat eating. I have been an atheist since 2004. A slow progression to that point. Then in 2006 I met my first vegetarian friend from India wen I moved to Canada.

In 2009, I became a vegetarian over night following the same logic that made me an atheist. “Question everything. ”

In 2010, I was vegan and have not looked back since. I am an animal rights activist as well.

For me, I did not have to look thru the history of Islam or any other religion, it all comes down to common sense, empathy, love, ecology and health.

Hi there! Thanks for a great post! I’m also a vegan Muslim, and very proud of it. I must say that I condemn the annual animal sacrifice as I feel it is very barbaric, especially in today’s age, so I don’t allow neighbors to bring any meat to my house. My mom is a vegetarian, and we live a peaceful and cruelty-free life (also no products tested on animals and things like that).
All in all, I feel Islam is in no way against veganism, and that we should read the lines about meat in the context of the times when the holy book was written. Compassion and health that a vgean lifestyle offers is truly in perfect accordance with religion!

Love your article and applause your courage to stand by your decision even under opposite circumstances. I am from india and converted to vegetarian 18 years bak . Coming from hindu family , it was still little bit tough as I liked the taste of non veg food. Am always curious and want to learn about islam and prophet muhammad ( may peace be upon him). Am sure he would never approve of eating and killing of animals in todays time.
All u people inspire me ! keep up the good work and lets spread love and understanding!

Your article is absolutely praise worthy and informative. Society needs more people like you who are rationale and know how interpret things said at a certain time and age, and use their discretion in concluding how relevant they are in today’s day, when we are obviously considered more civilized as a society. Any dictum be it on religious grounds or otherwise, that condones an act that promotes a sense of fear and helplessness in a fellow living creature, is definitely not a Godly act.

I wish you are able to spread this awareness and make our society more humane.

So happy we are not alone! It’s great to see other vegetarian and vegan Muslims. I think we have all been confronted over our decision, but for me, it is actually that the meat eaters do not want to face the reality of what they are doing and so back it up with religion– sadly, a religion most do not know deeply, or how could they miss the above-mentioned suras! Everyone will be judged seperately, so then for me, I do not appreciate others condemning me for my kindness on the basis of a mutual religion that encourages it.

Dear Nada.
I am not muslim. But as a christian, I recognize much of what you say. Especially family and other members of Church constantly tries to discuss this saying; “God gave us sheep to eat” etc. And like in your case, they completely ignore large portions of Scripture promoting veganism (christian orthodox fasting is really just a vegan diet). Genesis actually mention animals being created before humans and as pleasing to God and in accordance with his vision. Not for the consumption of their flesh by humans. Among what is expressively mentioned as food, there is nothing about animals until the banishment from Eden and what is called the “downfall of man/original sin” in christianity.

Much of the mental processes of those eating meat, in terms of justifying it, are the same for all people. I just wish they’d not pretend God in some way recommends eating meat, because he doesn’t.

You also said “how I choose to practice my religion should be of no concern to anyone else”. I’d rather say something like “how I choose to practice my religion should be of no concern to anyone but me and God”.

i just wanted to ask why you didn’t address the “animal sacrifice” issue?

it seemed like you agreed that this is required, yet it is also non vegan.

do you think it is better to sacrifice once a year for religious/spiritual purposes, or better to abstain from this practise for vegan reasons? and if you abstain for vegan reasons, how does that interfere with the muslim religion/spirituality?

40 years my baby’s first doctor said that food is cultural. I increasingly agree as I look at different wholistic combinations of food and wholistic belief…….

Living in Jerusalem, I became increasingly committed to organic foods. I have the luxury of buying my fruits and vegetables —Food” from a farmer who’s children come to the Friday market and I see the foreign farm workers with authentic smiles. I also have found two rabbits who supervise slaughter of kosher animals. One grows them himself and the other buys from Arab and druse who raise their animals on open natural land. This is also possible in some pockets of the USA. I also rcacall reading about the first shaman fold who came north from south and Central America to teach respect to the animal who contributes his life. Personally I relate to the ‘paleo’diet of meat and vegetables as my personal digestion and taste preference is minimal grains and maximum greens. (Of all colors). People think I am vegan till they see me devour meat. And indeed I believe that we must listen to our personal inner voices. My experience as a grandmother is that sincere self respect and kindness to everyone makes life more fun. No, I’m not perfect either but the more I succeed in that the more I enjoy……

Thank you nada for living your truth. Your omnivore relatives will eventually honor your choices as you respect theirs

THANK YOU. Beautifully (and fairly) written…with love, compassion & understanding. Thank you Nada! I am from a Muslim family (my Mother & Brother are vegetarian and vegan also), its not been easy to get our wider family to understand…but I have shared your post on facebook…I hope this can offer a new perspective. Thank you…much love! This is my vegan cafe in Cambodia that I run, if you are ever in SEA, please come to see me 🙂 SHAZIA XOhttp://www.facebook.com/DAOofLIFE

I am a Muslim and I have grown eating meat all my life. However, I have recently gave up eating meat based on similar thinking and reasoning you mentioned in your artilce and more importantly from my inner feelings for the welfare and life of animals. Since that time, I have been facing similar arguments and discussions about Muslims and veganism. I have had the similar reasoning that Qur’an did not require us to eat meat, but gave us a choice. So, that is my reconciliation. Further, I feel that all life is created by our merciful God and I should cherish them, not kill them. I should try to help them if and when I can. However, one point I have still not been able to reconcile, and that is about Qurbani during Eid-Ul-Adha. Am I required to do so? My understanding so far is, I may be wrong, that it is not Farz (required), but Wajib (which people interpret as close to Farz). On this point, I may be wrong, but I am not doing Qurbani right now based on this point. If I go to Hajj one day, what should I do? I have no answer to it yet. Hope I get some answer from some scholar one day before I go to hajj. I really enjoyed reading this article and thank the author for his courage and compassion tot he animals.

I understand being Vegan in the U.S. due to the terrible problems with the industry you cannot trust them. But if you live in a muslim country, you cannot be vegan because if the animal is abused or mistreated the animal tell Allah swt on the day of judgment who abused it. Also not every farmer in America, where i live mistreat their animals just factory farms. and It is Sunnah and Wajib to sacrifice that animal on hajj because there is no Alim decreeing that you don’t. the Saudi government ships and delivers all the meat produced on Hajj to muslims all around the world those who are homeless, and starving. The wahabi gov’t of Saudi Arabia is very strict to make sure an ant is not mistreated in their country. This deen is perfect there is no need to make it hard on yourself. If you support Veganism like i do but don’t go outside the boundaries of Islam. Protest against big business, Support animal activism and environmentalists. And also the reason why I said you can be Vegan in the west because you can practice wa’ra (abstaining from what allah has made halal because you might fall into haram) because you don’t trust where this meat comes from you can stop eating it. Allah knows best, may he guide and bless you. and advice for Nada, Please Islam is the only religion who preaches about the safety of the animals and the environment, If the muslims are not doing their job by doing what Islam commands. Then you need to lead them to help protect animals and the environment. As-Salaamu Alaikum.

I’d like to acknowledge I am not a Vegan. Sorry I love meat and I love animals, and I love gardening. But I support your vision. But Veganism should not prevent you from practicing your religion. Things like Eid-al adha and aqeeqah rituals are between you and Allah, You do not have to eat any of the meat from the rituals though. It can all go to charity. My family and I sent money to our relative so they can perform the ritual for us. It is a easier alternative than to perform it in the US.

Thank you so much for this amazing article it really gives me confidence and I definitely feel reassured about veganism in Islam. I am also Egyptian and have been vegan for about 5 months and my it has been such a struggle with my unfortunately narrow minded family. Thank you so much again and keep going, you’re amazing????❤️

Whilst I am not a vegan nor vegetarian per se, I generally do not eat meat from any animal, simply because I don’t like the taste. My mother thinks by me refusing to eat it and calling myself a ‘semi- vegetarian’ (lol), I am refusing what Allah has made halal and making it haram. I totally agree that most Muslim/Arab communities/nation with meat heavily incorporated in their cuisines have a hard time separating their culture from religion. It just boils down to misinterpretations and a lack of understanding, especially with the older generations.

Beautiful article and I agree totally. Meat is not needed in our diet when we think of the 100’s of fruits, grains, nuts and vegetables we could eat. I still eat eggs and have just started to reduce my dairy consumption due to factory farming being vile. So glad to see this attitude taking off in parts of the muslim world and I believe it to be quite a praise worthy quality. Peace.

Allah(tala) knows best. It is written. Yes. Slaughter is permissible once a year. They way we consume meat in the West is absolutely ridiculous. I am new convert to veganism hopefully heading to be fully raw. Our bodies is a gift take care of it.

hi! im also a muslim and 15 years old..i am hoping to try the vegan diet but the only thing stopping me is the lack of support from my family..so can i ask, how do you convince your family to be supportive of your decision to be a vegan?

I just subscribed to your blog and I love it. I can’t wait to learn more Middle Eastern recipes. I find it funny that I have heard Christians use almost the exact same arguments in favor of meat eating only about Jesus and the Bible instead of Muhammad and the Qur’an. For me as a Seventh-day Adventist, I believe that the whole person is important to God and not just the spiritual part. I believe that God wants the best for my body, mind, and soul. Plant eating is just one more way of giving honor to the God that made me.

Nowhere does it say that Muslims are required to eat meat (although the way some people do you’d think it was a sixth pillar or something)

I absolutely burst out in laughter in the middle of the night! Very, very good read. You brought up some good points,

Lately, i’m much more inclined towards veganism due to the health benefits it brings along with it and the fact that our current demand for meat isn’t sustainable anymore. It’s because of the enormous demand thats causing all the suffering in the meat industry. If there is no demand, there is no industry.

I don’t know if i’ll be going vegan any time soon. Mainly because if I did, I would starve to death. (everyone in my enviroment cooks meat almost on a daily basis) But one thing is sure; this vegan thing which I always laughed at and kept degrading, is certainly becoming an option for me.

Salam. I just finished reading your article and I think you are a great influence for young muslims who want to try veganism. I really want to try the vegan lifestyle but I don’t know where to begin. Do you have any pointers? If so, can you give me some advice? I really want to change my life for the better and I don’t know where to begin.

Oh my gosh. I love this post. I am Muslim and I want to go plant based/vegan, I am a bit scared of what people around me will think of me and I don’t know how to bring this up to my parents. I don’t want to sound ungrateful for the things my mother has cooked for me, so that is what is putting me off from starting. Could you give me advice? Also

Thanks for reaching out Huda! It can definitely be intimidating to approach your family with your decision to go vegan or vegetarian. My advice would be to explain your reasonings to them and ask that they be understanding, they might pass it off as a phase and say some unsupportive things at first but once they notice your dedication and resolve to pursue this lifestyle they will grow to respect it. If you’re worried about coming off as ungrateful, offer to cook your own alternative meals, or complement your mother on the veg dishes she makes that you like. Feel free to e-mail me if you’d like to chat about this more!

I enjoyed your article and agree that it is not incompatible with Islam for one to be a vegan and a Muslim. I also agree that most halal meat around today is so abusive towards animals that its halal status must be questioned. Indeed, if the community of scholars were to take this issue seriously I am sure that Muslims would be quick to reform their practices.

However , it would be wrong to say that Islam treats animals and humans as equal, in spite of the compassion with which we are supposed to treat animals. The Islamic understanding and justification for animal slaughter is that man is the highest of all creatures created by Allah (SWT) and in the act of worship his status is higher, owing to his free will, than even that of the Angels; therefore, when a human being obtains nutrition from an animal and utilises the ensuing benefits for any pious purpose in which he engages in the remembrance of Allah (SWT), the energy obtained from the animal is being used for a form a worship that the animal itself is not capable of. of course, this in no way justifies the hyper-consumptive contemporary culture relating to meat eating

Hellooo !
You hav absolutely no idea how your post was beneficial to me ! In fact it’s been two years that I deeply want to become a vegan, but every time I was confronting myself with all religious aspects that may contradict basic beliefs of veganis … Until I found your article ! Now I know I can start my journey as a vegan with 0 worry !
Thank you soooo much ! Your post really made my day !
I send you so much love !

Hey, for me, I legit used to vomit anytime I would take a bite of sheep meat or red meat, so the sheep slaughtering is easy to get away with during Eid Al-Adha. What is concerning is “macarona bechamel” which I used to love and whenever my mom made it, it was for me, specifically. So if she makes it again and I don’t eat it, I can only imagine the look on her face. I can try to convince to substitute with soy or almond milk, but I tried doing that with other dishes and it did not go so well. Did you ever make it with soy or almond milk, and if so, recipe please! <3

Hi Jojo! I haven’t made macarona bechamel before but I’ve made bechamel-y type things using both almond and soy milk before and it works out pretty well. I’ll consult with my mom and experiment with a recipe for macarona bechamel so stay tuned! I also have a post (and possibly a video) coming up on how to deal with your family while transitioning to veganism. Thank you so much for reading!

Hi nada! Well I’m a new vegan but have kept a vegan lifestyle from a very long time Ijust dont feel interested or attracted to eat meat or things from animals. I live in egypt, but am from south america, my in laws are pretty shock that I dont eat all the fatty animals food in the ‘very egyptian style’ its hard for them to believe that I eat lots of fruits and veggies bcuz thats who I am, not bcuz im afraid of getting fat as they thought in the beginning when I was new to the family. and mostly of the wives of my brothers in law are always telling me I need to be fat like the real ‘egyptians women, true strong women’ I just crack a sweet smile and say well am foreign, we are true fit strong women… and they just finish with their words trying to convince me that being fat its alright and sexy??? hmm Oh well..
When this discussion came with my husband, I told him that in the years when Quran was revealed ,on the place where was revealed.. that was pretty much survival and not as many means as we have now. Now certainly and in fact we dont need animal products to live a healthy life and die from starving.. There is tons of food more than what we actually need… thats why globaly we have an obesity problem. I find tht there is no problem on being Muslim and vegan, Allah doesn’t demand us that we must eat meat, is just tell us not to make the lawful unlawful.
It is not a big subject to be discussed except when it comes to the sacrifices and the meat given to the poor .. but If we are vegan is only our lifestyle and is not haram at all.. and Allah knows best but food options isnt abig deal.. u eat or not meat who cares.. we know how to take care of our bodies and likes

hi Nada , assalamo alaykom warahmato ALLAH wa barakatouh assalato ala the prophet mohammed peace be upon him
well first off alla i would like to encourage you about what you choose as a lifestyle , whether its good for you or if its not , just to point out Veganism isnt haram in islam and it does not mean that you are away from your religion , in fact Prophet mohammed was semi- vegan most of his meals consisted of dates and water sometimes laben ( milk) which is impossible to find nowdays with all the pesticides and the hormones and all that , so he prefered water and dates only eats meat during feasts with his companions but he never said thats its haram to eat meat in the other hand to his companions , in two words it is a personal choice , also there was a man during that time its is a fact he was fully vegan and a rassol the prophet accepted that , as for animal sacriface aid al adha there are some sayings that you are allowed to do another sacrifices and allahu knows the best ,

Very interesting site, a hot topic. I became a Vegetarian after my first year of college study in London and after about six months I became a vegan. I want to mention some things about religion but I don’t want any one to take it badly, its purely for discussion and exchange of ideas. Personally I was born and brought up as a Muslim but after seeing a disharmony between my religion and outlook, about 10 years ago I opted to take up another path. I became a Hare Krishna. Slaughter of animals and meat eating does play a big part in the traditions and cultures of Islam, Judaism and Christianity. I was not comfortable with that. Even though there are some hints of compassion towards animals, the Quran does talk about certain animals being set aside for food of humans, as does the Bible. Why was this so?

I do believe that there is one Supreme God with many names; Allah, Jehovah, Krishna, Buddha. The same Supreme personality initiates systems of religion all with the same aim; to persuade us to return to Him and give up nonsensical and elusive search for sense gratification in this world which is inherently full of suffering. However, all the religious systems are not on the same level. According to the Srimad Bhagavatam (Beautiful Science of God), actual religion stands on four pillars; Truth, cleanliness (internal and external), austerity and compassion. Truth is destroyed by gambling, cleanliness is destroyed by illicit sex, austerity is destroyed by intoxication and compassion is destroyed by meat eating. Thus those religions manifested by God which permit meat eating are not the highest paths as they don’t uphold all the pillars. So why did he bring those religions? Because some people are on that level. The religion established depends on the time, place and circumstance or people who are receiving it and they could not give up meat. Thus I wanted to come to a higher state of consciousness; Krsna consciousness where my religion and philosophical outlook were in consonance.

So I took up the path of Sanatana Dharma or Hare Krishna. After all we don’t choose our religion when we are born and so we can make the decision when we are able to properly weigh all options and attributes of various religions. Sanatana Dharma is based on Bhagavad-gita (the Song of God). For Hare Krishna’s ‘food’ is what is cooked with love and devotion for God and offered to Him. Then the remnants are eaten are known as ‘prasadam’ or ‘blessing’. The food cooked and offered to God is vegetarian. Prasadam is spiritually powerful and benefits whoever eats it. Thus I had become a Vegan to reach a higher purer way of eating and found it in this system. http://www.ravanari.com

However I do commend my Muslim brethren and personal and extended family for going the vegetarian/vegan path. Thank you for letting me comment.

Thank you…i really enjoyed reading your post….i too, am a vegan Muslim. .and have been for years now. My curious question to most, including my family, is why would the creatoe of all…give us animals that have an emotional bonding…they feel…they care..i worked and lived on a Dairy farm in late 2000…and that was it for me…hearing the mothers call out for thier young in the middle of the night, is something that still sits clearly in my memory..thank you again.

Great article!!!!! I love it!!! Im a south african muslim vegetarian, moving over to veganism and its so cool to know there’s other muslim vegans around the world. I soooo get the ironic ” peaceful slaughtering” thing. Hard to explain, but we geddit. Much love to all of
R you! Xxxx

That was great. I’m not Muslim but really have a lot of respect for Islam. I am also Vegan and though my family is not religious, the same debate happens. We were meant to eat meat just because we can, is really the overriding mentality. It’s there so, whatever. Chomp.

It comes from a place of privilege almost. A display of power and threat. It sometimes feels like its become a religion in itself to eat meat. However I am eternally positive that this psychosis will not last forever.

Great post! It felt as though I was the only vegan Muslim in this world…. But to see your post and comments of others really excites me.

Maybe we could make a vegan Muslim group online forum etc to advise one other when in Challenging times.

Agree with everything mentioned within the article. And loving the recipes.

Keep up the good work!

However I must say as much as I detest animal sacrifice, to know that I am helping a starving human (especially child) is just as compassionate as refusing to eat any animal products.

Obviously the agricultural industry is the ultimate contributor to worldwide starvation and in shaa Allah in time this industry will disappear. However as a Muslim connected to Allah I personally feel I must obey this command.

It does upset me but as you know something’s we shouldn’t question to much. And as I said above the guilt is reduced for me knowing that I am feeding a starving person. A starving human is equally upsetting to me as animal slaughter and cruelty.

By the way I have been vegan for 2 years and one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life. My only regret is not becoming earlier!

This is a fantastic worthwhile read.Thank you to all those who have contributed.I’ve been vegan for 25 years now,best decision I’ve ever made.I don’t follow any religion and live by simple common sense and spiritual principles.
I used to have a dog,picked up as a stray off the street,I fed him a vegan diet and he was with me for 15 years and died of old age.He was never sick and I never had to take him to a vet.He was always full of energy,and still looked like a 2 year old dog when he died.

The hostilities against veganism/vegetarianism is rather odd and tiring,but once you learn the truth you cannot unlearn it.I hope one day human brutality against other sentient beings will be no more.

I completely agree with you. The Quran does not instruct people to eat meat. What it does is recommend plant based foods like ‘thamaraat’/fruits which is the first mentioned food. It also emphasizes food coming from the earth which imply plant based food.

Furthermore, Allah mentions his ‘rabubiyah’ (lordship, role of being nourisher and sustainer). We are to be ‘rabbaniyoon’ (those who carry out this role of being nourisher and sustainer). Therefore, we must help our fellow beings have peaceful lives. We cannot treat them the way modern industrial farming treats them. Indeed, we are paying the price to the environment and to our karma for this transgression.

Hi. I thank you for your word and your courage. I was raised a meat-eating Christian, and I have gotten a lot of the same arguments from my own family for going vegan later in life. They also like to claim that Jesus, likely a vegan Essene of the day, supposedly ate fish, meat, etc. I’m not convinced. I’m a vegan, and I feel that many if not most of the world’s highly educated teacher and true healers (spiritual or otherwise) would agree that going vegan / vegetarian can radically improve our own inner life and outer reflection to the world. Thank you.

Thank you for your honest, humane, logic and courageous perspective on being vegan as a Muslim woman. I could not agree with you more and I thank you for sharing. I am a half Egyptian Vegan Muslim modern woman and relate to your experience with your family. In our day and age, it is even more affirmative for me to be vegan and educate others about the true meaning and values of Islam and the fact that our Holy book does not say we cannot be vegan either. I am sure there is a mass of us that have the same perspective and I hope this will shed light on many others and hopefully make a difference to our health, world and well-being. Sending you much love and support all the way from Australia xo

Salaaaam! I’m muslim and I’m vegan. Gooo girl! Nowadays we can find so many recipes for vegan. And that’s really cool. People should be more open minded and see that they eat so much meat to the point that there are obsessed, unhappily. So I just want to say that you have my support. And i wonder what’s your opinion about Eid al.Adha? Do we really need sacrifice a sheep bc I am thinking that we can help other people to buy them food you know.. or giving them money, idk, i’m the new one in this subject… <3

Alhamdulilah i have found your article and the replies. I am a male moslem vegetarian from indonesia (though i am living abroad) So it’s so hard for me to explain myself why i don’t want to be involved in animals sacrificing on idl adha. My excuse is that Allah SWT would not only see my sacrifice to him only on animals but many other things. Animals are just symbols on the story of the sacrifice. That’s all I believe. I also never read Islam forbids moslem to be vegetarian. The tradition of the animal sacrifice had been supposed to be a son anyway not a goat.

I am a Muslim and a vegan and I don’t see that Veganism and Islam Collide, one example is you can choose to not to do animals sacrificing on idl adha instead you do a money donation. Islam is a flexible religion just ask the right person. traditionally Muslims were semi-vegetarians. The Prophet was, I mean, technically, the Prophet (SAWS) was in that category. He was not a meat-eater. Most of his meals did not have meat in them. And the proof of that is clearly in the Muwatta—when Sayyidina Umar says, ‘Beware of meat, because it has an addiction like the addiction of wine.’ And the other hadith in the Muwatta—there is a chapter called ‘Bab al-Laham,’ the chapter of laham, the chapter of meat. Both are from Sayyidina Umar. And Umar, during his khilafa, prohibited people from eating meat two days in a row. He only allowed them to eat [it] every other day. And the khalifa has that right to do that. He did not let people eat meat every day ï¿½ he saw one man eating meat every day, and he said to him, ‘Every time you get hungry you go out and buy meat? Right? In other words, every time your nafs wants meat, you go out and buy it?’ He said, ‘Yeah, Amir al-Mumineen, ana qaram,’ which in Arabic, ‘qaram’ means ‘I love meat’—he’s a carnivore, he loves meat. And Sayyidina Umar said, ‘It would be better for you to roll up your tummy a little bit so that other people can eat.’”

I am not Muslim. Infact, I was raised Hindu Brahmin — the vegetarian sect of Hinduism. Hinduism was and is in many places a animal sacrificing religion as was most religions in the past Pagan & Abrahamic. Jainism & Buddhism were the first veg religions that talked about living a cruelty-free life. Then Hinduism had to adapt and actually was influenced to go veg during religious activities, hence creating the Brahmin sect, the priestly caste.

I am giving you background because even Veg Hindus are so disconnected with why they are veg and have no problem using animals as commodities like experiments, leather, etc. I believe religion has a place in that it brings some tranquility to your life and helps people gather together and families stay closer. However, I take their ‘rules’ with a grain of salt. We need to think critically and not be drones. The idea of putting ourselves in the animal’s place and feeling it’s pain and suffering is so important and many religions outright forbid independent thinking.

So, everyday I realize certain things I did that were actually cruel but didn’t think twice about it like fly traps, pesticides, etc…. Veganism is independent critical thinking that has one goal and that is to live Cruelty-free and not use animals at all !! No religion in the world is like it.

My admiration goes to all the Muslims who are vegan. I also have heard when I hung out with an Afghan family that ‘Muslims cannot be vegetarian because they HAVE to eat the sacrificed meat’. Ofcourse, I argued that ridiculous reasoning but it fell on deaf ears. hehe.

Asalaamu alaikum! I just wanted to say I loved this article, masha’Allah. I have been vegetarian most of my life and just recently took a step closer to veganism alhamdulillah. Although I wouldn’t be able to call myself a full vegan as I still eat honey, I agree with basically everything you’ve written in this article, and think it is time more Muslims started taking responsibility for their food choices. Every time the Qur’an mentions ‘halal’, it also mentions ‘tayyib’ (wholesome and pure). When meat is certified ‘halal’ here in the UK, it stands for nothing regarding whether or not the meat is tayyib, and has most likely been force-grown on hormones and steroids, and subjected to brutal and undignified treatment in life and in death. Neither halal nor tayyib, but these aspects of our faith seem to have become a forgotten criteria in our society… Subhan’Allah.

STOP WORSHIPPING EVERYTHING WE MADE IN GODS NAME AND INSTEAD WORSHIP EVERYTHING GOD ACTUALLY CREATED! GOD can not be found in books we have written! GOD EXIST IN ALL OF HIS CREATIONS! God created the earth, water, animals, humans(we are also animals), plants. We humans are destroying everything HE made and that’s like killing HIM! We are polluting the water, cutting down trees, burning down rainforests (killing animals and ants while doing so) over fertilize earth, polluting the air, over fishing. WE are burning down rainforests to make place for the plantation of soy to then feed to chickens, cows, lambs, pigs that we then EAT! We have more than enough food for over 12 billion people but we use 50% of all soy,corn,oats to animals instead of giving it to people that are starving!!! But why do humans do that? Because you can’t profit
on starving people so you give it to the animals we breed instead so industries could sell meat in the store!

WAKE UP!! I’m a muslim myself and do believe in god but you need to get the bigger picture!

But humans are more important … even tho we are polluting the water, cutting down trees, burning down rainforests (killing animals and ants while doing so) over fertilize earth, polluting the air, over fishing.
Marking the animals with numbers like they did with the jewish holocaust, gasing them like the jewish holocaust. We have already practiced this on the animals long before the jewish holocaust till today and will continue to do so in the future. If we can kill innocent animals “humanely” then it is acceptable. “They were treated with respect and were anestethisized”. People continue buying organic meat to feel guilt free. That sounds like one leader of the Nazis once said to his soldiers killing the jewish Children to “stop grabbing them by their hair, KILL them with RESPECT! The soldiers stopped grabbing and killed them with a gunshot on the back of their head, tossing them gently to a massgrave. Just because you are more gentle does not justify the killing. Killing is killing, doesn’t matter how you do it, it’s still wrong. It’s wrong to kill an innocent being! I hope I have enlightened you with some sense!

It just feels utterly wrong! If you treated your cat or dog like you do cows, chickens ect you would be jailed and rightly so. Eating meat causes many cancers too! Mouth, stomach, bowel ect fruits cure cancer, go figure. Lastly if your mother and father were cows or pigs so would be. Animals don’t fuck each other over daily, they are above most humans, peace be upon them.

Killing animals for their meat is a disgusting scene and practice, but our body, especially the young needs meat. How Islam solves this dilemma?

Sharia substantially puts many obstacles for slaughtering. Some of them:

Only meat of animals with hooves that have cleft is halal, i.e. a of cows, bulls, sheep, goats and rams.
Only fish with scales.
Only poultry with feather.
They must be slaughtered due to guidelines of Zebh (Dhabihah), which puts less fear to the animal.
Butchery is an abominable job.
Agriculture is a praised job.
Eating cooked food at night is abominable.
Imam Ali: Do not make your abdomen cemetery of animals.

The case of Khidr the Prophet: He is the oldest living man, contemporaneous with Alexander the Great. Khidr means green man, and it is narrated as he is a vegan.

Hi!
I am a moslem from Indonesia, I am a vegan, I graduated as an oceanographer, I worked as a climate services adviser (more or less I know the impact on climate change to our live).
Really support your article!
Quran must be understood contextually adapted with the times and condition.
The prophet message is simple and clear: love the humanity, love the environment, love the other creature and don’t be greedy. How can it can be contradicted to vegan? 😉

Quran says Allah is very Merciful. So let us try to understand what is mercy in terms of Halal and Haram. When the animal is slaughtered or killed in a very inhumane way, the meat so obtained is Haram and is not recommended. The idea is to cause very little pain as possible to the animal before killing and we need to utter verses in the ear of the animal before killing it, so that it also receives Allah’s mercy and this meat becomes Halal. So Allah says that you humans being so fallen and degraded species, if you cannot survive being a vegetarian than at least eat Halal so that one day you will realize from within what pain and suffering an animal goes through and may be in this life you will realize this and give up eating meat and obey the actual instructions provided by me. So indirectly, forgiving and not taking life of these tiny souls is better than killing. So see, Allah is so merciful to us that he is anticipating that one day these degraded humans will realize the harm they are causing, and I certainly do not recommend it in Quran. So Allah says you need to understand the true essence of Quran and follow my instructions intelligently and do not follow it just for the sake of rituals, so that you can raise your consciousness. This is the absolute truth and hence I analyzed it and converted from being INHUMANE to HUMANE. Hope we all realize this very soon.

Thanks for this article! I, a Muslim Vegan, am conducting research on this very topic. It’s interesting because if we go by the Sunnah, the Prophet himself (PBUH) almost never actually ate meat. He much preferred dates, barley, olives, figs and so on. A lot of what is included in the hadith is merely to capitulate to the Arabian society as a whole. E.g., some suggest that while the Prophet (peace be upon him) may not have agreed with certain practices — be they consuming meat or others relating to women), certain ideals had to be compromised ever so slightly in order for them to be acceptable to society. If he came and banned all these mispractices outright, the men of Arabia would never have accepted him or made changes. The Quran says “He has forbidden you only dead animals, and blood, and the swine, and that which is slaughtered as a sacrifice for other than God.” (Quran 2:173). So if the flesh of dead animals was not optimal, if the people were going to do it anyway, at least Halal made it slightly better than before

Very interesting post. I agree with you somewhat however I am of the opinion, the Quran is timeless, and it is first before my personal opinionz/choice. Saying that your examples from hadith and the compassion towards animals in Islam is correct. Unfortunately, capitalism and supply & demand has led us to think about money only.

Sh Hamza Yusuf regularly preaches that Muslims are semi vegetarians, the eating of meat should be restricted to once a week, but better even less. There certainly are nutriton benefits that cant be found elsewhere, and considering the whole vegan lifestyle,I dont find it completely healthy.

In fact for me, this is why I believe islam is beautiful, becuase its the middle path, its th moderation and respect for urselves and animals.

I wrot e a post on animal rights a few years ago, its a shame many (i says w/o evidence) muslims have a lack of respect for animals especially dogs.

Your statement, “In fact for me, this is why I believe islam is beautiful, becuase its the middle path, its th moderation and respect for urselves and animals.” is not correct !! ——–Killing an animal once a week may be moderation from where YOU ARE STANDING; HOWEVER, for the animals, it is TERRORISM !! Veganism IS the TRUE moderation ! It is the UNIVERSAL TRUTH — THE GOLDEN RULE — Do unto others as you will have them do unto you !

Thank you. So true. I had a similar experience growing up in a christian environment. When I became a vegetarian as a child this came up during a meal at Easter at church. The referent laughed in my face and told me he would sit down with me to explain what the Bible said about animal sacrifice. And even these days people I speak, choose to focus on the notion that the Bible says you can eat meat as if it is a ´must´ or a permit to do so under all circumstances and never give the consequences any further tought. That these consequences are very much related to a good stewardship, caring for the less fortunate in the world, compassion, mercifulness and other things that are álso considered of high importance in the same Bible is easly forgotten, apparantly. It often makes me sad, really. But I think that, indeed, it is becuase we are challenging the deep-set traditions, not even just of a culture, but of an era. I think that once vegan products become more widely available, and more and more people will choose them, even if only a couple of times a week, the more common they will become and the less challenging giving them serious thought they will start to feel to people. Hopefully.

Thank you for your wonderful article and argument. I’m not a vegan but I’m a Musilm . I have Vegan friends (Both Musilms and Non-Mulsims ).

Actually, your article opened my mind to a question, Can a meat consider being Halal if the animal was mistreated or tortured in its lifespan then was slaughtered Halal Way?

Because as I remember in Hadith there were two Sayings:
A Women entered “Nar” because of a Cat .
there is a reward for serving any animateز

After reading your article, I think the answer maybe: NON-Halal.

Furthermore, Meat tends to let you eat more and profit said to eat less as below :
A few morsels that keep his back upright are sufficient for him .If he has to, then he should keep one-third for food, one-third for drink and one-third for his breathing.

Again Thank you for your efforts and inspiration. Now I’m thinking to be a Muslim Vegan .

Salam!!
I just found this blog post as of late me and my husband been really considering moving towards a vegetarian and potentially in the future more vegan diet! I love how you said everything and what you said because it’s how I completely feel about the beauty of Islam and the freedom to choose veganism or not within Islam. I believe In the Prophets (pbuh) time even animals were a luxuary to have and to eat. I remember reading back then people would eat meat on fridays and on the Eid holidays, and obviously more so if they were wealthier I am sure. But it makes sense. Anyway, thanks for helping push me towards my healthy living/eating goals!

I love this post and all the replies to it. Thanks for everybody’s contribution.
I was curious weither veganism is a popular subject in the Islamic world.
I read a lot of interesting replies. That made my view wider and my consciousness deeper.
I think it all comes down to this ” control yourself, take only what you need from me”. Me is god, mother earth, excistence even. But yet i am still working myself through this :-). I eat too much… Even if I stick to a vegan meal. Our (at least my) relationship is completely distorted, and had been since agriculture or even before. An wild animal never takes more then it needs, even when there is enough. Thanks for this enlightenment

I live in Germany and we made Vegan week challenge in the office. I did not totally believe of its importance, but am shocked that I did not disagree with you in any point. I will reconsider my eating habits from this day!

I am a Muslim and I have been contemplating becoming vegan, reading your blog was refreshing as it mirrors my perception on the way animals are treated. I’m curious to know your journey to veganism and the challenges that you faced, if possible please share your story?

I understand your loyalty to your religion and it is probably a big part of your identity and social life, but how can you identify with a violent religion while being drawn to a lifestyle of nonviolence? By violent, I’m referring to the prophet Mohammed and how he came into power by war.